Immigration: Do Fences Make Good Neighbors?

By Corinne Ramey, Drum Major Institute. Posted May 2, 2008.

"Good fences make good neighbors," says the farmer in Robert Frost's famous poem, "The Mending Wall." But by the end of the poem, he is no longer so sure. "Something there is that doesn't love a wall; That wants it down!" writes Frost. Like the fence in Frost's poem, the U.S.'s own fence -- that great big one between the border of the U.S. and Mexico -- isn't doing such a great job of making good neighbors, either. Two new casualties of the fence have been in the news recently.

Casualty number 1: the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Brownsville, Texas

In a small town called Brownsville, Texas, sits the Sabal Palm Audubon Center. This 557-acre natural wonder is filled with rare birds, the last remaining native sabal palm forest, and a biodiversity of different species. Over the past 30 years, more than $100 million has been poured into the site, both taxpayer money and the work of nonprofits. Today, the Center attracts tourists from around the globe, bringing in millions of dollars in tourism each year.

But soon this could all change, as the proposed fence would likely force the Center to close and decimate the economy of the town. As Dan Barry writes in the Times, "He [the manager of the Center] says the Fence would create a twilight zone out of a swath of distinctive American soil, disrupt and damage wildlife and have the opposite of the intended effect: it will be the birders and other tourists -- not the illegal immigrants -- who stop coming."

And it's not only the environment, the sabal palms, and the rare birds that would suffer. The economy of Brownsville could be devastated as well. According to the Center, "The proposed barrier will damage critical economic drivers for a region that urgently needs them, cutting off vital tourist areas and cutting property values. With per-capita income well below that of the nation and other parts of Texas, the Rio Grande Valley cannot afford the costs a barrier would force it to absorb."

Casualty number 2: The U.S. Constitution

As Adam Liptak wrote recently, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has recently been wiping off the books any laws that he suspects could interfere with his fence building. Liptak writes,

"Last week, Mr. Chertoff issued waivers suspending more than 30 laws he said could interfere with 'the expeditious construction of barriers' in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. The list included laws protecting the environment, endangered species, migratory birds, the bald eagle, antiquities, farms, deserts, forests, Native American graves and religious freedom."

Labor rights laws, such as the Fair Labor Relations Act of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, could also be waived.

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, the power given to Chertoff is unprecedented. Additionally, the law not only gives him the power to suspend laws, but would "require" him to suspend them if he thinks they interfere with constructing the fence. The CRS report (which was written before Sec. 102 was passed) reads, "The new §102 would provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with not only the authority to waive all laws he determines necessary to ensure the expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under §102 of IIRIRA, but the requirement that the Secretary do so."

Chertoff's law-suspending ability is not only unprecedented, writes Liptak, but "...it is also, if papers filed in the Supreme Court last month are correct, unconstitutional."

Who's not a casualty?

So the environment, the economy, and U.S. law are all hurt by this overpriced (estimates vary between $3 and $5 million per mile) fence. So what, you ask, could possibly NOT be hurt by this Goliath on the border? According to the Dallas Morning News, the fence "bypasses border property owned by individuals with close White House ties." So, as Robert Frost might ask, perhaps those friends of the White House will make good neighbors?

See more stories tagged with: immigration, border fence

Corinne Ramey is currently an intern at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, in addition to working for MobileActive.org and doing freelance journalism around New York City.

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